RIDING OFF IN THE SUNSET

EXPLAINATION OF PRIOR COMMENTS. I WILL BE IN FULL UNIFORM IN CASE OF INJURY. I WILL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO RIDING OFF INTO THE SUNSET WITH ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP. I WILL DO A CARTWELL OR FLIP FOR YOU GUYS AND THEN YOU ALL CAN LIFT THE COACH AND CARRYING HIM TO KAISER. I WILL BE SMILLING ALL THE WAY.

JULY 28 GAME VS DREAM TEAM

GREAT GAME BY ALL THE LADIES. YOU DESERVED ALL GAMES BALL. GREAT HITTING AND DEFENSE. AS FAR AS THE COACH/GRANDPA. MY PLAYING CAREER IS OVER. MY PERFORMANCE WAS TERRIBLE. I'M RETIRED CAN'T DO IT KNOW MORE. I'M OLD, FAT, BALD LOOKING LIKE MY TWIN BROTHER CARL WINSLOW FROM NOW ON THE COACH/GRANDPA WILL BE A SCOREKEEPER/FAN. THE TEAM IS IN GOOD HANDS AND YOU ALL SHOULD GO ALL THE WAY TO CHAMPIONSHIP AND BE UNDISPUTED CHAMPS FOR 2009. LATER COACH/GRANDPA

How would you like a new bat?

I'm having a drawing at Monday's practice for a new softball bat. It's a 34 inch, 26 ounce Worth Silencer in our team colors. To be eligible, all you have to do is be at Nichol Park #2 and ready to practice by 5:00 sharp. Your name will go in the hat for the drawing to win the bat. That means cleats and glove on, ready to throw at 5:00. Not walking across the park. Not sitting on the sidelines, chatting on your phone while your softball gear remains in its bag. (Now let me try my Billy Mays impression. Pretend I have a thick black beard and an annoyingly loud voice.) BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! IF WE HAVE AT LEAST SIX PC BRICKS PRESENT AND READY TO PLAY AT 5:00, I'LL THROW IN A SURPRISE MYSTERY GIFT! YOU WOULD EXPECT A PACKAGE LIKE THIS TO GO FOR AT LEAST $60.00! OR $75.00! MAYBE EVEN $100.00! BUT FOR YOU, IT'S FREE! WE'LL EVEN PAY THE SHIPPING AND HANDLING! THIS OFFER WON'T LAST FOREVER! YOU MUST ACT TODAY! OPERATORS ARE NOT STANDING BY! YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN!

We Could Clinch Next Week

With two games to go, we find ourselves in first place by a slim margin over the Mod Squad. Next week's games could determine our final place in the standings before we play our makeup game with the Terminal Digits. If we take care of business with the Dream Team and the Mod Squad knocks off the Terminal Digits next Tuesday, we clinch first place. We would be 5-1 and the Mod Squad would be 5-2. Every other team would have at least three losses or two losses and a tie. The worst we could do is finish 5-2 which would tie us with the Mod Squad. Since we beat them in head-to-head competition, we would win the tiebreaker and claim first place regardless of the outcome of our game against the TD's. If we win but the Terminal Digits defeat the Mod Squad, the TD's would still have a chance of claiming first place. They have played only four games because of their postponements with us and SWAT. Their record is 2-1-1. If they beat Mod Squad and SWAT, they will be 4-1-1 and we would be forced to beat them in our final game to keep them from overtaking us with a 5-1-1 record. If we lose to the Dream Team, we'll definitely have our work cut out for us. We would have to defeat the TD's and hope SWAT could knock off the TD's in their makeup game. So as you can see, losing to the Dream Team would put us in a most uncomfortable position. I recommend we avoid it.

Clueless Critics Continue to Show Their Ignorance

Gary got an earful from one of our Mod-mates today. The peanut gallery continues to complain about our tactic of using walks to our advantage (drawing many ourselves while giving up almost none to our opponents). I guess 22 hits (1 triple, 5 doubles, and 16 singles) isn't enough to satisfy them that we do a lot more than walk. Because we drew 13 walks between those 22 hits yesterday, we're still not playing the game right. Yeah, we'd be so much better off making outs between those hits like their teams do. Let's hope our opponents keep thinking that outs are better than walks.

FIRST OF ALL, WE WIN AS A TEAM AND WE LOSE AS A TEAM. ALSO WE'RE THE CHAMPS AND NOBODY CAN BEAT US BUT OURSELVES. EVERYBODY HAS TO CHEAT TO DEFEAT US. ALSO AS A TEAM IF THE PITCHER IS NOT THROWING STRIKES DO NOT SWING. WE HAVE TO COME TO THE GAMES ON TIME AT LEAST 30 MINUTES EARLY SO WE DON'T HAVE TO SCRAMBLE AND PUT A LINE UP TOGETHER. I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TIMES HAS MARK HAS SAID THAT. WE ALL HAVE TO GROW UP AND BE ADULTS. YOU KNOW THE GAME TIME AND SCHEDULE. I UNDERSTAND FAMILY EMERGENGIES OR CHILD CARE ISSUES BUT WE NEED TO INFORM SOMEBODY BY 12:00PM IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE. ALSO EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THE RULE BOOK INSTEAD SAYING THINGS IN THE DUG OUT WHEN YOU DON'T WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT. THIS WHAT PRACTICE IS FOR TO DISCUSS THE RULES. NOT IN GAME TIME WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT. ALSO ON A PERSONAL THE LEAGUE IS FALLING APART JUST LIKE THE BUILDING POOR MANAGEMENT AND LACK OF COMMUNICATIONS. WE NEED TO ALL SHUT UP, PRACTICE AND PLAY BALL. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE FANS AND THE OTHER TEAMS COMMENTS. WINNING THE GAME SHUT UP ALL THOSE HATERS. ALL THE OTHER TEAMS IN LEAGUE ARE GARBAGE. WITH ALL OUR PEOPLE WE ARE 10 RUNS BETTER. EVEN IF WITH NOT ALL OUR PEOPLE WE STILL ARE BEATING THEM. WE DON'T MAKE KNOW EXCUSES WE JUST PLAY BALL. I CAN SLEEP AT NIGHT. I KNOW WE PLAYED AS HARD AS WE CAN. WE DIDN'T CHEAT LIKE THE TSC OUTLAWS. TRUST ME WE NEEDED THIS LOSS. CHAMPIONS REBOUND. JUST ASK THE MOD SQUAD WHO GAVE US LOSS LAST YEAR AND WE BEAT THEM 20-5. THEN IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WE WERE GETTING TDS OUT 1-2-3. THE TSC OUTLAWS GOT A BUTT KICKING COMING. I HOPE THEY GET TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. THATS WHERE I WANT TO GET ALL OF THEM. THEIR STAFF AND THEIR BOSS. I GOT SOMETHING UP MY SLEEVE FOR THEM. BUT WE GOT TO GET THAT EYE OF TIGER AND FOCUS BACK.

TSC Outlaws Seize Opportunities, Prevail 9-8

I covered most of yesterday's events here so I won't repeat myself. I'm interested to know how everyone feels about it, though. I'd would like to go over some of the rules that were abused yesterday -- not to dwell on the affect they had in our defeat but to be aware of them so we don't get screwed again in our future games. First, let's go to the play where Derric was called out after over-running first base because he rotated to his left, rather than his right when returning to the bag. At the time, I said the rule book states very plainly that he can turn in either direction so long as he does not make any effort to advance to second base. Here's the proof from page 119 of the ASA rule book: "After over-running first base, the batter-runner may legally turn to their left or their right when returning to the base. If any attempt is made to advance to second base, regardless of whether the runner is in fair or foul territory, they are liable for an appeal out if tagged with the ball by a defensive player while off the base." As it was perfectly obvious to anyone with at least a few functioning brain cells, Derric made no effort whatsoever to advance to second base. He turned a 180 and was heading back to first base when the Outlaws used their mob rule technique to coerce Sammy into his uninformed decision. If we had a proper umpire present, it's not likely that call would have been made. If it was, we would have certainly played the remainder of the game under protest. But Sammy was out there on his own time doing us a favor by umpiring so we let it slide. From this point forward, let's always turn to our right after over-running first base. It's obvious we can't depend on the umpires to know the rule and we certainly can't depend on our opponents to play fairly. In the third inning, the Outlaws again made an effort to flout the rules by attempting to use multiple courtesy runners in the same inning. Playing Rule #7 states quite clearly that only one courtesy runner is allowed per inning. "7. Courtesy Runner: One courtesy runner is allowed per inning in all leagues. The courtesy runner must be the same sex as the batter. If the courtesy runner’s turn to bat comes up while on base, the runner will be called out and the player will come to bat. " There were some other minor infractions such as not pitching from within six inches of the pitcher's plate and an attempt to circumvent the strikeout rule but I expect a proper umpire will be on top of those. It's pretty irritating that most of our opponents in this league can't or won't familiarize themselves with the rules of the game. It's even more irritating when they complain as we try to stop them from cheating. We waste so much of our game time dealing with blowhards who argue the rules without knowing them. Apparently, they think yelling the loudest makes them right.

Good luck!

I want to wish all my teammates good luck in tomorrow's game, i'm sure you'll make me proud.

Whither Goest Derrick?

Remember our teammate with the clutch bat, rock star hair, and damaged clavicle? It appears he's gone missing.

Are you out there, Derrick?

THE COACH/GRANDPA IS BACK. I KNEW THE CHICKEN (four-letter term for "feces" deleted) TD'S WAS GOING TO PULL OUT OF THE GAME YESTERDAY. IT DOESN'T MATTER TO ME. WE CAN RESCHEDULE WHEN JAMES COMES BACK AND IS WELL RESTED FROM HIS LONG FLIGHT. WE NEED A NEUTRAL SOFTBALL COMMISSIONER. I'M SICK AND TIRED OF THE CAPTAINS COMMITTEE'S STUPIDITY.

What should we work on today?

I was thinking we'd run through a few sets of outfield drills, followed by a round of infield and a quick round of batting practice. Then we can go watch the what's left of the Mod Squad vs TSC Outlaws game. How does that sound? We have tomorrow if anyone wants some extra work. Do you want to work on hitting to the opposite field? Scooping low throws? Fly balls? Throws to first base? You name it and we'll work on it.

July 7th Game VS TD's Postponed

We need to find a date when we're available to play the make-up game. It looks like we have four potential dates open when the diamonds at Nichol Park will be available to us. They are: Thursday, July 23 Thursday, July 30 Tuesday, August 4 Wednesday, August 5 There's a poll in right margin. Please vote so we can figure out who is NOT available on each of these dates.

To Postpone or Not to Postpone?

There's a rumor circulating that the Terminal Digits want to reschedule our game on Tuesday because they might be short a few players. The hideous waste of taxpayer funds known as Management Tango is sending most of our managers down to Phoenix for three days of ring kissing and navel gazing next week and at least a couple of these managers play for the TD's. I doubt there's any truth to the rumor about the postponement because Chiniqua hasn't been advised of any changes in our schedule and the game is just a few days away. The date of this Management Tango fiasco has been known for at least a month. But let's assume this rumor is true and we're going to be asked to postpone this week's game. Is this something we should do? Ordinarily, I'd say yes without any hesitation. This is recreational softball and it would be a drag that some of their players would have to miss a game. Also, James is in Singapore for two weeks with the Army Reserves and we'd be much better off playing with James than without him. So if they'd be willing to wait until James returns to play the game, a postponement would probably benefit us as well. But this isn't an ordinary situation. This is the same team that took advantage of two ignorant umpires to have three of our perfectly legal bats declared illegal and removed from our game so that we had to play the game with only two bats. (More on this later.) After a donkey punching maneuver like that, I don't see that we owe the TD's any favors. Maybe it's time for them to reap what they have sewn. Now, for the benefit of our team members who weren't with us then, let's have a look back at The Great Bat Controversy. In one of our games against the TD's last year, they decided to get cute and have the umpires inspect our bats. In our previous game, Brandon launched a homer over the leftfield fence and I guess the TD's found it difficult to believe he has that kind of power. Perhaps they would have tested him for steroids too if they thought the lab results would arrive in time. The umpires checked our bats and tossed three of them out of the game because they did not bear the ASA's 2004 certification mark. These bats had passed inspection before because the umpires recognized they were old aluminum bats, not the dangerous type the ASA is trying to keep out of play. But this pair of umpires declared them illegal. Interestingly, Brandon's bat with which he hit the homer was one of the two bats declared legal and allowed to remain in the game. The bats that were tossed out were older, single wall aluminum bats manufactured in the 1980s, long before the composite and other high-tech bats arrived on the scene. They were marked "Official Softball" which was the required certification mark when they were made. Two of these obviously older, game-worn bats were light and preferred by most of the women on our team. Even an inexperienced, unsophisticated umpire could plainly see they were ordinary aluminum bats. None of these bats were ever going to help any of us launch home runs or pose a threat to fielders even if we managed to dip into Barry Bonds's secret stash. Two of the bats were mine. One was an Easton S6 and the other was an Easton SX1. The third bat was Gary's. I don't recall the make and model number but it was a heavier model aluminum bat well over a decade old. As I mentioned earlier, these bats were not illegal and there was no need for them to be removed from our game. Here is an explanation from the ASA's website: ________________________________

ASA Bat Testing & Certification Program

The official bat in ASA Championship Play must meet all of the requirements of Rule 3, Section 1 and: 1. must bear either the ASA approved 2000 certification mark or the ASA 2004 certification mark as shown below, and must not be listed on an ASA non approved list, and

2. must be included on a list of approved bat models published by the ASA National Office; or 3. must, in the sole opinion and discretion of the umpire, have been manufactured prior to 2000 and if tested, would comply with the ASA bat performance standards then in effect. Beginning January 1, 2004, all bats in ASA Championship Play must pass the ASA 2004 bat standard. All bats having the 2004 certification mark will be allowed in ASA Championship Play. Bats that have the 2000 certification mark will not be allowed in ASA Championship Play unless they are listed on an approved bat list on the ASA website. For convenience, the ASA website has a listing of bats that do not pass the ASA 2004 bat standard. ______________________________________ There is a good reason for the ASA's bat testing and certification program. In recent years, advanced technology and materials have led to the manufacture of bats that provide enhanced hitting power. In the hands of a powerful hitter these high-tech bats can be highly dangerous, especially at the lower amateur levels such as ours. Finally, the ASA began testing these new titanium and carbon-aluminum composite bats and outlawed those capable of propelling the ball so hard and fast as to be a threat to pitchers and other players positioned close to the hitter. In our league, all composite bats, even those bearing the ASA certification marks, are banned. You may have noticed that item #3 allows the umpire to make the call on the inclusion of older bats. If they had ruled the bats were not manufactured before 2000 or that they had been modified, or believed they might be manufactured with materials that would not allow them to meet ASA certification, we would have no choice but to accept their judgment. They would have been wrong but we had to live with it. But that isn't what they ruled. They tossed the bats because they didn't bear the 2004 certification mark. This was an incorrect ruling. Unless someone invented the time machine while I was away, it's impossible for a bat manufactured in 1989 to bear a 2004 certification mark. Both the Easton S6 and SX1 were on the ASA's approved bat list. We tried to explain this to the umpires but they wouldn't listen.

The irony here is that by allowing the 2004 certification mark to be their only guideline, the umpires could allow any number of illegal composite bats to be used while they are banning perfectly safe and legal old aluminum bats. They are defeating the entire purpose of the ASA's bat testing and certification program. But I digress.

So we were left to play the game with only two bats. The TD's didn't feel confident they could beat us on the field so they had to pull a lame stunt to put us at a disadvantage. Fine. They still couldn't beat us and in the end, their skullduggery completely backfired. The following weekend Gary and I went on a shopping binge to load up the team with certified bats of every weight from 23 oz. to 34 oz. From that point forward, we had the equipment to allow each of our players to find a bat with which he/she was really comfortable. Now you have the background. Knowing this, have the TD's demonstrated the kind of sportsmanship that makes them deserving of a any favors?

Enough Already!

While Brandon and I were in the bleachers at the Richmond vs. Master Batters game yesterday, we talked about something that's been annoying the **** out of us. That's the continuing complaints from our opponents who maintain we aren't really beating them -- we're just taking advantage of the rules.

These complaints first appeared about a month into the 2008 season and they haven't stopped. Apparently, our opponents believe our style of play is somehow unfair to them. They think we should be swinging at the slop they bounce around everywhere but in the strike zone instead of waiting for them to throw us some strikes. They're sick of watching us take our walks. You know what? There's a simple solution to this. If they don't want us to draw so many walks, they can QUIT WALKING US! The rules do not favor us. They apply equally to both teams. We're doing everything we can to maximize the talents of the players on our team while minimizing those of the opposition. That's not unfair. It's the wise thing to do and rather than be criticized for it, we should be praised.

On offense we're going to make every effort to load up the bases for our big hitters. On defense, we'll do everything we can to ensure the opposition's big hitters come up with the bases empty. To complain that we are doing something unfair is patently absurd. It sounds like a boxer complaining that his opponent won't stand still and drop his hands so he can be hit squarely in the jaw. “Wah! The PC Bricks won’t do stupid things so we’ll have a better chance of beating them. Mommy, it isn’t fair. Make them stop! Wah!” Enough is enough. It’s time for the rest of the league to get used to us. We’re going to do everything we can within the rules to win every game we play. We practice at least once every week after work. Some of us get together on Saturdays for extra batting practice. We do these things because we want to play well. We enjoy winning and we don’t owe anyone any apologies for it. We know we’re going to be beaten at some point. It could be in our next game. And when it happens you won’t hear us putting down the other team or their style of play (as others have done so freely to us). We’ll just wear it.

PC Bricks are 3-0 after 20-4 dismantling of Mod Squad

The Big Bad Wolf was able to blow down the house of straw in the first week. Then he had no problem with the house of sticks in the second week. But when he arrived at the house of the PC Bricks, he huffed and he puffed but he just couldn't blow the Bricks' house down. It was a solid effort all around on the part of the Bricks. Our infield and outfield defense was much tighter this game than it was during the previous two and our 20-run offense was there as usual. I don't think I heard any buckets being kicked or any equipment being slammed down on the dugout floor. So we must have kept Grandpa pretty happy. Check here for more pictures from the game. After I decipher Gary's scorekeeping, I'll have the stats up as well.

The Rules

To keep the amount of time wasted squabbling over the rules during our games to a minimum, I want to cover some of them here. Not that I anticipate any funny business with the Mod Squad as they typically display a high level of sportsmanship. Still, it's always good to know the rules. First, in the discipline department, we have this: Casual Profanity: Foul language is not permitted on or around the playing field by any player at anytime. Players using profanity will be warned by the official after the first offense and will be ejected after the second offense. NOTE: Officials may eject a player without first giving a warning depending on the nature of the remark. So watch your language. And should you find yourself ejected and you want to play again in the next game, it will cost you $50.00: Any participant who is ejected from a game is automatically suspended for the next game and will be required to pay a $50.00 (CASH) ejection fee before they will be allowed to continue playing in the league. A player ejected from a second game will automatically be suspended from all current AND future City of Richmond sponsored leagues until further notice. Getting into the game play, here's the strike zone rule. The “Mat & Plate” will be used to call balls and strike. Any legal pitch (fairly delivered within the height of six (6) feet to twelve (12) feet from the ground that hits either the mat or the plate will be declared a strike. Dimension of the mat 23” width and 24” length with the home plate cut out. In other words, so long as the pitch is delievered at least six feet high but no more than twelve feet high and it hits the plate or the mat, it's a strike. The traditional letters to knees strike zone in baseball does not apply here. And here's the controversial two-base rule for walks to male batters: On a walk to a male batter (intentional or not) the batter is awarded two (2) bases. The next batter, a female, must bat with less than two (2) outs. If there are two (2) outs she has her choice of hitting or taking a walk. Last year, a male batter who walked got two bases only if he was thrown four straight balls without a strike. The rule has been changed this year. Any walk to any male batter is two bases. The female batter who follows him can take a walk to first base only if there are two outs. The pitcher has the option to start his/her delivery up to 6 inches in front of the rubber. The pitcher will need to be set before delivering the pitch to the batter. Pitcher flexibility is a must to prevent injury consider pitcher helmet. What Sammy was doing last week was illegal. He started nearly a foot in front of the rubber and took three steps to deliver the ball. Our local rule provides only a six inch allowance in front of the pitching rubber. Other than that, the pitcher has to conform to the ASA rule rule that provides that at part of one foot remain in contact with the pitching rubber until the ball leaves his/her hand (Rule 6, Section 3.A). So if he's starting six inches in front of the rubber, his pivot foot has to remain in contact with that spot six inches in front. He can't stroll a quarter of the way to the plate before delievering the ball. Here's another rule that's likely to come up often: Courtesy Runner: One courtesy runner is allowed per inning in all leagues. The courtesy runner must be the same sex as the batter. If the courtesy runner’s turn to bat comes up while on base, the runner will be called out and the player will come to bat. You can't get much clearer than that. Each team gets only one courtesy runner per inning. Choose wisely. Here's another big one that's a drastic change from last year: 2. Fielding: A) Outfielders (including rovers / buck shorts) must remain behind the restraint line and infielders must remain in the infield until the pitch reaches the plate or is hit (The restraint line is a line of cones in the outfield at an arch 150’ from home plate). PENALTY: Failure to abide by this rule will result in fielder’s interference. A delayed dead ball will be called by the official. If the batter reaches the base safely, the play will stand. If an out was made, the batter will be placed on base safely. 1.) Must have at least two women in the outfield. In essence, the rover position has been eliminated. You have to play four outfielders behind the markers. You can still call your fourth outfielder a rover if you wish but what's the point? He/She can't do any roving. And don't forget that last point. Every team must have at least two women in the outfield. That's it for now. If I can identify any others that are likely to cause confusion or controversy, I'll try to cover them here later. Everyone on the team should become familiar with the local rules. I have posted them on the Rules page of our website.

The Mod Squad is Huffin' & Puffin' to Bring Our House Down

If we play up to our potential, they should be as successful as the The Big Bad Wolf was when he employed that strategy against the third little pig's brick house.

From the Mod Squad's Blog:

fxebrwn Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:58:09

TODAY IS GAME DAY

I GOT MY GAME FACE ON

IM READY TO BLOW DOWN SOME BRICKS.....LETS HUFF AND PUFF TO THEY ALL COME FALLIN DOWN..

GO MOD SQUAD As for the game face, the Lady Bricks say, "Bring it on!"

An Underwhelming Turnout

Our next opponent is 2-0 and the only team that has ever beaten us. One would expect us to have an enthusiastic turnout Monday afternoon to prepare for such a big game. We had a great practice last week and I was expecting more of the same this week. But no. There were only five of us who could be bothered. I postponed an appointment I made months ago so I could be there. I was getting real pumped up for this game but after seeing how little the team cares about it, I'm kind of depressed. Is it wrong to feel let down? Perhaps I'm looking at this the wrong way. Maybe most of the team is so good, practice isn't necessary. Is that it? Thanks, Gena, Bobby, Lynecia, and Chiniqua for coming out. We weren't able to do much but at least we got to work on catching some high flies and pop-ups. I'm pretty sure we weren't the only ones who needed it, though. On the positive side, those who were there worked really hard and made some pretty good progress. If we can get that kind of effort from our entire team week after week, I'm certain our outfield coverage will improve substantially. Oh, and thanks for trying Coach. (Gary arrived just as we were on our way out of the park.) (SIGH)

PCBricks.com?

I'm quickly running out of space on my free Earthlink site so I started investigating other options. Can you believe www.PCBricks.com is already taken? And it's not even a brick making company. It's a company in New Mexico that makes computer cases! But the name PCBricks with .net and .info aren't taken yet. I may try to get one of those. But don't think about changing the team's name on me if I do!

Pop Ups and High Flies

Our first two games have made one thing about our team very clear -- we need to work on turning fly balls and pop ups into outs. We're giving away way too many outs and runs by letting playable flies drop. We have the players to turn these batted balls into outs but we're just not executing. I'm not saying this to point fingers or place blame. It's nothing like that. I think it's the natural result of the way we've conducted our practices. We've spent too much time on hitting when we probably should have been devoting a lot of that time to our fielding. At our last practice we shook things up a little bit to improve our infield defense. I think it was successful as our footwork and handling of short throws on the infiled was pretty good in the game against the Master Blasters. Now we need to put that same kind of focus into our outfield play at Monday's practice. In my opinion, the main thing we need is a lot of repetition. We have players with the ability to catch routine fly balls. There's no doubt about it. We just need to work on judging the flight of the ball and getting into position to catch it. I know from experience that when I go a long time without practicing, I lose my sense of judging the flight of a ball. I can't tell if it's hit right at me or if I need to charge it, or if it's going over my head. I try to hold my position until I can figure it out but most of the time, that hesitation costs me. By the time I can tell where the ball is headed, it's too late for me to get there in time to catch it. I feel disoriented and I lose confidence. But when I go out to the park with some friends and we hit each other a few buckets of fly balls, it comes back to me. After I get the chance to follow the flight of the ball off the bat several times, it becomes easier to tell if it's going deep or falling in front of me. I reduce that period of hesitation when the ball is first hit and I can recognize more quickly if I need to turn and go back or charge the ball. I think that kind of repetition is primarily what we need now. The tricky part is to find a way of doing it that allows our outfielders to get in the work they need without it resulting in a bunch of standing around for everyone else. I think I have some drills that will help us in that regard --sort of like the infield drills we ran last week. Everyone will be participating and constantly shifting positions and tasks. There should be very little (if any) dead time. By the time we're done with practice on Monday, everyone will have seen a lot of flies, worked on getting under them, executing the catch, and making a quick throw to the infield. I want to make it fun but without taxing us so much that we don't have enough gas for Tuesday's game. Assuming my hamstring is okay, I will be available on Wednesday for those who want to reinforce the work we do on Monday. We'll also have time to work on other things as needed.